Iran, nuclear breakout and hope for the future

In an interview with Daily Kos, Jacqueline Shire of the Ploughshares-funded Institute for Science and International Security discussed Iran’s nuclear program and nuclear proliferation in other countries. She commented on a London Times story that Iran ended its weaponization effort in 2003, calling it “hawkish and overstated and sort of hyperventilating.” Shire suggested “the reason that Iran suspended its weaponization R & D effort in 2003 is... the United States had invaded Iraq and was breathing down [Iran's] neck and maybe it was a new day and it was going to be a new world the next morning, but also possibly because their scientists had kind of learned what they needed to learn.” Shire also discusses the geopolitical implications of such a program and international reaction.